Modern stories have developed a fascination with their villains, peeling back the layers to find the person underneath the monster. We've seen this with Cruella, the infamous Dalmatian-hating fashionista. Her origin story invites us to look past the black-and-white caricature and ask a compelling question: what’s really going on in her mind? While her character is a fictional exaggeration, we can certainly recognize real psychological patterns in her dramatic transformation.

Let's quickly recall her story. She was born Estella, a girl with a rebellious spirit and a striking natural feature—her half-black, half-white hair. Her mother, who lovingly tried to temper what she called Estella's "cruel" side, tragically dies. Left alone, Estella suppresses her wild nature, even hiding her unique hair. She falls in with two street thieves, Jasper and Horace, and channels her talents into design. For years, the restrained Estella is in control. But it’s not enough. When she finally gets a chance to work for the tyrannical fashion icon, the Baroness, her ambition awakens the dormant side of her personality: Cruella. Tough, uncompromising, and brilliant, Cruella takes the fashion world by storm. But as she rises, she grows cold and cruel, even to her closest friends, leaving us to wonder about the diagnosis for her behavior.

Not Bipolar, Not Multiple Personalities

It's easy to jump to conclusions. The switch between the meek Estella and the dominant Cruella might initially suggest bipolar disorder. This condition is characterized by shifts between manic and depressive states. In a manic phase, a person is energetic, chaotic, and can feel invincible. In a depressive phase, mood and motivation plummet. While this seems to map onto Cruella and Estella, it’s not a correct fit. In bipolar disorder, these phases alternate over time, and a person can't simply stay in one phase for years without treatment, as Estella did. The idea of bipolar disorder as a rapid, Jekyll-and-Hyde switch is a common but profound misconception.

So, what about dissociative identity disorder (DID), often known as multiple personality disorder? This is the condition famously portrayed in the film Split, which was inspired by the real-life story documented in The Minds of Billy Milligan. In that case, the main character housed 23 distinct personalities and had little to no control over which one emerged. This is the critical difference. Estella isn’t a helpless passenger. She chooses to become Cruella. She consciously unleashes her alter ego to achieve her goals, switching between the two personas based on what the situation demands. Her struggle isn't a loss of control, but the difficulty of managing two powerful parts of a single self.

The Core of a Narcissist

So if it's not these disorders, what is it? From childhood, Estella was taught to suppress her true emotions and conform to social norms. This coping mechanism didn't resolve her inner turmoil; it just buried it. When a person doesn't learn to accept and integrate all parts of themselves, they can become volatile in stressful situations, leading to impulsive actions and fractured relationships.

Cruella’s behavior points strongly toward narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). People with NPD often have an incredibly unstable self-esteem, swinging between feelings of utter grandiosity and complete worthlessness. We see this in Cruella. She exhibits several key traits:

• A deep need for admiration. When her friends stop praising her and start questioning her methods, she cuts them off without a second thought.
• Devaluing others. To feel superior, narcissists often belittle those around them. Cruella constantly emphasizes her unique talent and considers herself above everyone else.
• Fantasies of greatness. She is utterly obsessed with her own success and revenge, building a grand narrative around herself.
• Using people. Her friends Jasper and Horace become tools to be given unquestioning orders. She doesn't care about their feelings, only about achieving her goals.

This explains why the friends who knew and loved the gentle Estella are left baffled by the cold, calculating Cruella. Her narcissistic traits were always there, but they came roaring to the forefront in her quest for power.

A Battle of Nature vs. Nurture

The film throws a wrench into the works when it reveals that the Baroness—herself a ruthless narcissist—is Cruella's biological mother. Their mutual hatred is explosive because they are too much alike. A narcissist cannot stand a rival, especially one who mirrors their own traits. There can only be one star, and each will do anything to destroy the other.

This raises the age-old question of nature versus nurture. Cruella was raised by a loving adoptive mother who gave her care and support. And yet, her inherited genetics seem to have won out. The narcissistic traits she shares with the Baroness eventually took over her personality. It’s a chilling look at how deeply our biological blueprint can influence who we become, regardless of our upbringing.

Ultimately, everything comes together. Cruella doesn't destroy Estella. She finds a strange harmony between them. She retains the ambition and ruthlessness of Cruella, traits she needed to survive and conquer. But she also integrates the empathy and capacity for friendship she learned as Estella. This fusion distinguishes her from her biological mother and allows her to build her own, albeit twisted, version of a happy ending, surrounded by the loyal friends who anchor her humanity.

References

• Keyes, D. (1981). The Minds of Billy Milligan. This book details the real-life case of a man with 24 distinct personalities. It serves as a powerful counterpoint to Cruella's condition, illustrating what a genuine case of Dissociative Identity Disorder entails—a lack of control and awareness that contrasts sharply with Cruella's conscious command of her two personas.
• Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2009). The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement. The authors explore the rise of narcissistic traits in modern culture. Their analysis of how narcissism manifests in a chase for fame, admiration, and status provides a broader cultural context for characters like Cruella and the Baroness, whose lives revolve around the cutthroat and image-obsessed world of high fashion.